Tinder Plans to Start Cashing in on Daters This Year

May Reach $75 Million a Year in Earnings, IAC Says

Published on July 30, 2014.

A Domino's campaign on Tinder.

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IAC/InterActiveCorp said it plans to start making money from its Tinder dating app this year.

Tinder could generate as much as $75 million a year in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Greg Blatt, chairman of IAC's Match Group unit, said on a conference call today to discuss IAC's earnings. That assumes Tinder's user base is monetized at the same rate as sister company OKCupid in North America and Europe and a quarter of that rate in the rest of the world, he said.

"It's growing like a weed," Mr. Blatt said. Generating money from Tinder is "a work in progress in terms of exact manner and timing."

Monthly active users on the app have increased 140% this year, he said.

IAC, which runs dating sites such as Match.com and OKCupid within its Match Group business, is trying to keep its edge in online dating, where it's the market-share leader with about 28%, according to researcher IBISWorld. Tinder, the match-making app that allows users to swipe right on pictures if they're interested or left if they're not, has been a rising star within IAC's portfolio even though it's not yet profitable.

It has experimented with ads like a profile for Domino's pizza and the Fox comedy "The Mindy Project." But it has remained free to use so far.

Barry Diller, chairman of IAC, said in April that the dating app is now considering three approaches for making money: subscription, advertising or "freemium," where basic access is free and additional services cost extra.

"We have got lots of little areas marked for revenue," Mr. Diller said at the time. "You bleed into them over time."